don't be angry, happiness, that i take you for my own

sometimes mark has to drag me, as though i'm a sullen teenage girl, out on adventures. my immediate thoughts (sometimes) are along the lines of what a hassle. there will be biting insects, no doubt. etcetera.

we are babysitting jason's canoe this summer, and for a week we are also babysitting his car with the canoe-friendly rack atop. jason encouraged us to use the canoe, and mark was dying to get out on scarborough marsh, via a secret spot he and isaac found a few weeks ago.

i have learned over the years to ignore my instincts to stay inside where it's safe ("don't let's do anything. it's safer that way," said one of the characters in waiting for godot, and i laughed so hard). see the gorgeous reward i get? even after the following conversation. mark: "what's the worst case? the tide will be out and we'll just come back." me: "well, actually the worst case would be that we would both drown."

reader, we did not drown. i was bit on the ankle by my first official black fly, and it was totally worth it.

days

location scouting in bayside.

lulu's long lost cousin?

waiting for godot in deering oaks (he never showed up. at least i don't think he did).

a date with mark at red's. we split a peanut butter cup nor'easter.

did i mention it got really hot and everyone freaked out? and then it was over, since we live in maine and these things never last very long?

every day: procrastinating, reading books, watching treme, eating popsicles and drinking iced coffee and going for walks and burning things in the back yard. avoiding vacuuming up tumbleweed dog hair and doing laundry and cleaning the bathroom and working quite as many hours as i should.

home

my home. i'm not sure what it is about this image (seen here as sticker art on the maine state pier), but it makes me want to get a maine-shaped tattoo. and it's pretty popular on tumblr today.

oh, friday night lights. i loved you so. and after hearing this fresh air interview with kyle chandler, i love him too. even more than before, that is.

it's hot, and i have NO COMPLAINTS. though i should have made three times more iced coffee than i did last night.

i want my yard to look like this place.

i have been reading gay classics and maine classics and a fabulous japanese mystery. piles of books from the library. if only i had one of these i'd never get anything accomplished.

words, words, words. i seem to have a problem turning nouns into gerunds and not noticing i've done it. gerunding.

zoë and mark and i are planning to wait for godot in deering oaks tonight. care to join us?

the sea is circled and sways peacefully

people who come to visit us must go home sighing, "maine is exhausting."

mark's mom and his sister tracey came to maine for a long, sunny, peacefully swaying weekend, and we barely let them lie down at night to sleep. we were out having summery adventures the entire time.

♥ walking on willard beach
♥ pastries from standard baking eaten on the maine state pier

♥ hiking the cliff walk
♥ dinner at bonobo
♥ gorgeous gelato at gorgeous gelato
♥ moxie tastings
♥ trips to trader joe's to stock up on dark chocolate peanut butter cups
♥ a scenic drive to midcoast maine
♥ venturing out on the rockland breakwater
♥ a trip to merryspring nature center
♥ iced coffee and boats in camden
♥ carry out indian from hi bombay
♥ a trip around casco bay on the bagheera schooner
♥ more walks around portland

there is probably plenty i'm forgetting, too. the sailboat ride was sublime (despite the most annoying woman in the world seated beside me, who had a knack for making a small child in her group -- her niece? -- scream and cry. for example: woman: "wow, i think that was the longest temper tantrum in the history of the world, elizabeth! are you finished crying now?" elizabeth, having been silent for five minutes: "WAAAAAAH!!"). but my favorite was merryspring, a new discovery for us. it has lovely nature trails and perennial gardens, and we had the whole place to ourselves. i have a thing for the midcoast, actually. i had a perfect iced americano at zoot in camden, and when we got a little bit lost on the way home, we kept passing my dream homes, one little cottage after another, lakeside or in sight of the camden hills, or just sweet and shingled and small.

anyway, what a sunshiny few days. a bunch of kansans in maine, and i think they liked it.

beginners

if you like gay dads,
dogs, or ewan mcgregor,
you'll love this movie.

always fires after midnight

it was zoë and max's party weekend, maine-themed, complete with a casco bay lines piñata, bread in a can, plenty of moxie, homemade vegan whoopie pies, and much more. oh, like a watermelon cut with a samurai sword.





yep. because it's not a party without a samurai sword and fire jumping.*

and the chair trick, although the party was replete with shorties who seemed to think that the "trick" was them getting to sit in a chair and be lifted into the air by a bunch of people. i've decided that trick is for grownups. can you sense in the photo below that i'm losing patience?

the piñata was so heavy it required four grown men to hoist it.

but one girl in a dirndl was nearly enough to defeat it.

after the sun goes down, the fire games begin.*

we had our boy home for the weekend, my mom and dad here not only for the party, but also a celebration the next day of mom's birthday, complete with dog walks and leftover blueberry buckle and lunch at gogi. summer, i like you.

half nested again

while this bird gets herself settled back into life at home,

spending time with this guy, and time alone, and time with friends,

oh, and digging through the box that finally arrived two months after it was mailed from china (minus many books, most of them illegal dalai lama contraband),

(max acting out his fury at the chinese government, below)

reviving the old scrabble club, meditating with the buddhists, making plans, eating delicious food, worrying about life a bit, taking walks, and reveling in clean-smelling clothing, comfortable beds, and western-style toilets,

this bird has flown to cambridge, where he's spending most of the month of july attending an architecture/design program at harvard design school.

so the boy is off to a great start, living the urban life with the coolest grandparents ever, commuting to harvard square, and designing things all day. he'll have a new project each week, and he's planning to come home on the weekends for some maine breezes, bike riding, frisbee throwing, and hanging out with friends.

above, his very own desk. below, something cool looking that he made.

so we're down one kid again, at least during the week. luckily we've got some extras from time to time, in max, adrienne, miss gliss, lilly, anthony, and more. stay tuned for the highlights of max and zoë's welcome home (maine-themed) party this weekend.

each glistening minute

reader, she came home!

we greeted the travelers in boston with bottles of moxie, and a bag of peach rings for max.

after feasting on american-style indian food in central square, we sent max and his mom on their way home to maine. zoë wanted to spend a little time with her mana and pop in cambridge, and it was a gorgeous summery day of strolling and iced tea from peet's and listening to tales from india and china and japan, and a few tears too.

when she got home, zoë reunited with her beloved miss gliss right away. not only that, but there was a papier-mâché project undertaken almost immediately. more on that later.

below, isaac's belated birthday present -- a mahjong set purchased at a chinese "dirt market," one of zoë's most successful haggling experiences. max and zoë taught us the basic rules.

what else? since she's been home, we've artwalked, met up with some old friends, eaten korean tacos, observed some congress street eccentricity (and no, i don't mean david meiklejohn), shopped for college bed-length sheets, sipped iced coffee, made paninis and pan bagna and tibetan momos, and spent some quality time on the beach.

it is wonderful to have her home. being able to reach over and touch her is kind of unbelievable after six months of seeing her only via skype, or her words on google chat, of finding her location on the map thirteen hours and so many miles away. there are so many things to fit into this whirlwind summer. she is my scrabble buddy, my walking-downtown companion, the only one who finds certain things as funny as i do. i have plans to try and slow this fleeting summer down, to enjoy every minute. meanwhile, zoë is still easing out of jetlag, sleeping fitfully and feeling overcome by a wave of exhaustion every day around four o'clock. also, she misses the adventure desperately, is deeply nostalgic for all of it, even as she eases back into sweet everyday life at home. it's a complicated time, to tell you the truth, for all of us.

rabbit rabbit

july, july!